Missing California woman mystery sparks new search and rescue mission

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Search efforts continued for missing California mom, Maya "May" Millete, who vanished from her Chula Vista home nearly eight weeks ago, according to reports. 

The recent efforts were coordinated by Ashley Rawlins, who said she felt compelled to help find Maya, despite not knowing her.

"We have no answers right now so we need something that can lead us to where she is, where she was, and we can bring her home and get answers for the family and get justice," Rawlins said Sunday, according to San Diego's KGTV. 

CALIFORNIA MISSING MOTHER'S FAMILY SAYS HUSBAND WASN'T ACTING NORMAL BEFORE WIFE VANISHED

(Maya "May" Millete, a mother of three, went missing from her California home Jan. 7.  (Richard Drouaille))

Millete, a mother of three, has not responded to phone calls or texts since Jan. 7, and "all of her vehicles" were at her residence, according to the Chula Vista Police Department. Her husband told FOX 5 she may have gone hiking in a canyon near their home.

The department made a renewed plea to the public on Jan. 24, asking for assistance in finding the woman after interviews with family, friends, and co-workers, police wrote in a release.

Authorities served a search warrant at the family’s home on Jan. 23, "to obtain any evidence and clues to her current whereabouts," the release added.

Since her disappearance, weekly searches have been conducted in places she enjoyed visiting around the San Diego County area, according to reports. 

People looking on Sunday included two of her brothers, a private investigator, and Alejandro Orpigoza, a member of a volunteer search and rescue group called the Armadillos, which helps locate people around the U.S./Mexico border.

Orpigoza said he knows how to spot clues in nature, including noticing soft spots in the dirt -- so he brought those skills and a group from his team to help.

"I am here just to be part of the effort," said Orpigoza.

FAMILY OF MISSING CALIFORNIA WOMAN HOLD RALLIES TO CONTINUE SEARCH

Claude Sims, the private investigator helping on Sunday said he assisted with multiple missing people searches in the community over the years.

"Knowledge is power, you know what you’re looking for, you have an idea of what you’re looking for, it makes it a little bit easier," he told KGTV.

Meanwhile, Bill Garcia, another private investigator, drove all the way from Tahoe on Friday and said he’s working for free to help find Maya. 

His car was packed for five days worth of work and he plans to search highway cameras from the day she went missing, according to FOX 5. Garcia said the cameras "can record up to 300 license plates per minute."

"Families who have a loved one disappear, they’re devastated," he said. "They get destroyed over time and I didn’t want that to happen."

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Anyone with more information is asked to contact the Chula Vista Police Department or the San Diego Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line, authorities said. 

"If we can all come together and keep looking, then hopefully we will find answers and we will bring Maya home," added Rawlins.